I'm currently reading Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, which is, I suppose, aimed at 'young adults' (teenagers). It's a very imaginative and gripping trilogy, not a chore to read by any means, and very well written, for the most part. It's easy to read but it employs a quite rich vocabulary that draws subtly on Blake and Milton.

My favourite ever fictions are Chekhov's short stories, but these are of course translated, so I'm not sure as to how enriching they will be for your vocabulary. Vocabulary-wise, there's Shakespeare, of course, but then there's also Nabokov. I suppose whether or not 'Lolita' is a chore depends upon your tastes (Luka hates him afaik), but I didn't find it to be one - and it's full of words that the most fluent English speaker will need to look up.

Interesting to ponder whether a non-native English speaker would find lessons in Nabokov and Conrad, two non-native speakers who became master stylists in English.

Could I appeal to Dissensus recommend me some fiction that is very engaging, while still having a rich vocabulary? I am looking for something to read in English just before bedtime. Something that will enrichen my vocabulary, but without being too burdening. It might be worn out classics, even the ones you read at school in the UK/US. Even fiction for children might do, if exceptionally well written. The goal is to improve my English writing skills by reading more native stuff untranslated, but it shouldn't feel like a chore. Any advice?

I was going to recommend book one of the Earthsea trilogy. Beautifully written & poetic without being too verbose - but its fantasy as well.

Have you considered some of the American classics? Hemmingway's 'Old man & the sea' and Steinbeck's 'The Pearl, short, aphoristic and plain in language, but engaging.

My perennial recommendation is Peter Heller's 'the dog stars' which I think fits your bill as well. It's got some stylistically interesting sections which could help with your understanding of the colloquial.

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I've started reading 'The Beast in the Jungle' by Henry James. It's a 70 page novella, published in 1903, when James was 60. It's a 'meta' reading experience, the novella being about an extremely shy protagonist who can never directly reveal his secret fears, the style (presumably the 'standard' James style) being infinitely hesitant, nuanced, self-scrutinising, self-qualifying. In other words, it seems to be a story about James himself, and about why James writes as he writes.

I recognise myself in this style. My own writing, especially on here, is full of these qualifications and evasions. And I'm a shy person, crippled by self-doubt, compelled to notice by the fear of some crouching beast. I'm no Henry James, but I can relate to him.

I should add that I find this style exasperating, as I would no doubt find my own 'style' on here to be exasperating, but that it certainly packs a high degree of nuance into a short space (paradoxically by greatly extending sentences).